After yesterday’s simmering confessions of lust and temptation by Regina Spektor, let’s visit another song with exactly the same title to see how different it might be. This 1966 hit by John Sebastian, Mark Sebastian and Steve Boone is a much more joyful affair, all about going out, having fun, and looking for a girl. And yet that’s not all, nor is that easy, not because of any kind of inhibition or self-doubt, but because of the urban environment. The New York band might be referring to their own city but it could apply anywhere. At a time when pollution levels in many of the world’s metropolises are getting to dangerous levels, it’s strange out these details stand out when listening to a song that appears to be about having a good time, dancing and waiting for the temperature to drop so the “cat can look for a kitty”. Supremely catchy, there are also unusual elements even in the music – the cautiously odd, slightly sinister intro and the sounds of car horns and sledgehammers. A 60s pop classic with far more to it than searching for love.

Hot town, summer in the cityBack of my neck getting dirty and grittyBeen down, isn't it a pityDoesn't seem to be a shadow in the city

All around, people looking half deadWalking on the sidewalk, hotter than a match head …

And babe, don't you know it's a pityThat the days can't be like the nightsIn the summer, in the cityIn the summer, in the city.

SNACK OF THE WEEK

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MORE MUSIC …

Our latest roundup of new releases includes an emotional return for The Twilight Sad and Steve Gunn, catchy quirkiness from Toro Y Moi, solid alt-rock from Juliana Hatfield, cosmic pop from Steve Mason, and dire warnings from Lost Under Heaven

Getting ahead with the forthcoming releases over mid-January, melancholy, dystopian beauty is a predominant trend from Deerhunter, Sharon Van Etten, You Tell Me and more, with a dash of joy from Jeffrey Lewis covering The Fall

The second part of our roundup of outstanding albums of 2018, in alphabetical order by title, marked by a number of great debuts from young bands, as well as more established artists releasing their best work to date

The first part of our annual roundup of notable albums includes several great debuts by young bands, plus work that reflects dystopian political turmoil, gender issues and growing human relationship with technology

Song of the Day: After Miss Otis Regrets, another songs about a women who decided to stop taking abuse from a man, this time by the band from Brixton whose song eventually became synonymous with the Sopranos

Song of the Day: After yesterday’s She Drew The Gun songs, let’s go back to an original Cole Porter number from 1934, which contains that shot line of defiance and revenge, a tragic tale about a society woman who simply would not take it anymore

Song of the Day: A pair of finely crafted and powerful songs addressing pain and ongoing social problems from the Liverpool indie pop band fronted by singer and songwriter Louisa Roach from the 2018 album Revolution of Mind

Song of the Day: Exactly three years ago Bowie released his final album, on his birthday, and two days before he died. Was that opening track a coda for a stellar career, referencing a life’s work, his demons and impending death?

Song of the Day: After R.E.M.’s The Wrong Child, a more discursive number about teenage problems, ranging from drugs, gangs, sexual abuse, to depression and suicide by one of the finest New York rap outfits from the golden age of early 90s hip hop

Song of the Day: After yesterday’s Problem Child by Hed Ogledd, a rarely played, but beautiful, pathos-rich song from the perspective of an outsider, perhaps with a physical or mental disability, looking at other children playing

Song of the Day: A positive start to 2019, with a simple and gorgeous piano-based melody and love song from the pioneering British psych rock and pop band formed in St Albans in 1961 from their classic album of 1968, Odessey and Oracle

Word of the week: It’s best known as the mythical monster in Lewis Carroll’s poem from Through The Looking Glass (1871), but the word also means nonsense or gibberish, something that continues to be very much at large

Word of the week: It’s originally from an Arabic word, qisma, meaning portion or lot, and taken from Turkey in the 19th century, meaning fate, but where has in turned up in song lyrics since the 20th century?

Word of the week: It’s not all doom and gloom right now. With the winter solstice just gone by, days will slowly lengthen, allowing us to perceive more lux, that unit of illuminance and luminous flux. It’s a beautiful word, but where does it appear in lyrics?

Word of the week: It means utter nonsense talk, and there’s no shortage of that – at work, home, in law, and especially in politics right now, but where does the word come from and how is it used in song lyrics?